if you have to look for new warehouse or commercial space, you know it can be a lot different than looking for a new apartment or residential house for rent. There are some factors that are working in your favor. More and more warehouses are being developed. By the end of 2013, more than 60% of the nearly 60 million square feet had been completed and no commercial leases has been signed. Between 1990 and 2003 four billion square feet of warehouse space was constructed. Entering into an office lease agreement can be a lot more complicated and you need to consider some different factors. Leasing office space and warehouses also can take longer.
7 Things to Consider Before Entering Into an Office Lease Agreement:
- How is square footage measured. This is how your rent will be determined and different properties can have very different methods for calculating it. Before entering into an office lease agreement, you need to make sure you and your prospective landlord are on the same page with how this is determined. You will want to make sure they are only charging you for the space you are using. Many landlords add to that to increase what they can charge.
- Make sure you are looking at space that is correctly zoned. You do not want to think about entering into an office lease agreement in the wrongly zoned area. People have tried to open retail shops in warehouse space. The reason for this is obvious. It may be cheaper but it is illegal. If you run a retail shop, you need to look into leasing retail space. The landlord of your warehouse would have to apply to have the space rezoned.
- What about parking? All parking lots need to be maintained. Yours is no different. If you are leasing a warehouse, you probably have big trucks coming and going and that adds to the wear and tear of your parking lot. Many landlords handle all of the parking lot maintenance but before entering into an office lease agreement, you need to iron that out. It can cost you a lot later.
- Speaking of maintenance, who handles it? Most landlords expect their tenants to pay for garbage collection but other things like roof repairs and other maintenance that needs to be done around the property is open to discussion Talk to the landlord before entering into an office lease agreement.
- Check the ceiling height and floor load. What kind of equipment will you be bringing into your warehouse? Will the building meet its requirements for the floor load and the ceiling height? Make sure you check on this before entering into an office lease agreement.
- You will need power, heating and air conditioning. Make sure when you are renting a warehouse that it meets your power needs. You will have to also verify with the landlord that the building has everything you need for heating and air conditioning. For your power needs, you may have to bring an electrician out to the property to check and see if the facility has what you need to run your business. Often landlords make their tenants provide the unites for these services so make sure you talk to your prospective landlord before you sign anything.
- What happens if you need to expand your business? Does the landlord you are talking to have more property in the area or even some that is directly adjacent to the property you are looking at? Ask them about the availability of other warehouses in the area. If you develop a good relationship with a landlord and you like your location, if your business does really well you will probably be interested in staying nearby. Moving residences is hard enough, moving companies can be a lot harder. If they do not own the adjacent property, maybe they know who does and can introduce you.
Storage and warehouse leasing are big businesses. There are nearly 167,000 people who are employed by this industry. Given that the need for storage space only seems to be growing, that does not look like it is a trend that is going to stop any time soon..